Wire supported brassiere



April 1958 A. GUIDE 2,829,650

WIRE SUPPORTED BRASSEERE Filed Oct. 5, 1954 INVENTOR BY ANi-HoNY GUIDE ATTORNEYS United States Patent WIRE SUPPORTED BRASSIERE Anthony Guide, Rarit'an, N. J.

Application October 5, 1954, Serial No. 460,455

Claims. (Cl. 128- 470) My invention relates in general to brassiere structures and more particularly to the type of brassiere structure which employs a wire brace for providing the breasts with a firm support and for effecting the desired separation between the breasts.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a fabric brassiere employing a wire brace which is not visible in use, which does not come in contact with the body of the wearer and which may be readily removed when the brassiere is to be laundered.

Another object is to provide 'a fabric brassiere with a readily removeable wire brace and releasable means for holding said brace in predetermined relation to the fabric of the brassiere.

Another object is to provide a wire-supported brassiere which is neat in appearance and comfortable in use.

Another object is to provide a brassiere which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the inside of a brassiere incorporating the present invention, showing the wire brace thereof in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken from the same direction as Fig. 1 and showing the connecting flap between the breast cups in open position and showing the seam at the edge of one of the breast cups partially torn away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the outer end of one of the wires with portions of the fabric of the brassiere shown in dotted line; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the details of the mating portions of the two sections of the wire brace.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the brassiere comprises two similar but oppositely formed fabric breast supporting cups 1 and 2 and a separable flexible band 3, said band connecting the outer edges of the two cups and being adapted to encircle the body of the wearer in the conventional manner.

A conventional adjustable shoulder strap 4 is provided having one end thereof attached to the cup 1 and the other end thereof attached to the band 3. Similarly, the shoulder strap 5 is attached to the cup 2 and the band 3, and both of said straps 4 and 5 are adapted to pass over the respective shoulders of the wearer in order to lend additional support to the brassiere.

Longitudinally folded strips 6 and 7 of a plush-like material are sewn along the lower peripheries of the cups 1 and 2, respectively, to form tubular channels 8 and 9 between the respective folds thereof. The channels 8 and 9 are open at their adjacent ends and adapted to receive wires 10 and 11, respectively, which are relatively stiff and shaped to conform generally with the lower edges of the cups 1 and 2.

2,829,650 Patented Apr. 8, 1958 seams 14 and 15 which terminate the respective tubular channels.-

The use of plushlike material for the strips 6 and 7 provides a comfortable cushion between the wires 10 and 11 and the body of the wearer. V

The inner end of the Wire 11 is bent in a horizontal direction to form a bridge portion 16 and is then bent downwardly to form the extremity 17. The vertical extremity 17 is of square cross section and is adapted to berernoveably received in a square recess 18 formed in a vertical socket member 19 secured to the inner end of the wire 10.

Although recess 18 and extremity 17 have been shown as being square, it will readily be understood that they may be of any suitable complementary shapes which do not permit rotation therebetween. Thus the planes in which the arc-shaped wires 10 and 1 1 lie may be maintained in the desired relationship with respect to one another, subject to normal bending of saidwires in use.

It will be seen that a readily detachable connection is formed between the wires 10 and 11.

A piece of plush-like material 20 is folded over the bridge portion 16 with its outer ends sewn together forming a tab or finger grip to permit the ready removal of the wire llfrom the socket member 19, and providing padding for said bridge portion.

The outer edges of the lower portion. of a fabric connecting member '21 are sewn to the inner edges of the cups "1 and '2, the connecting member providing a permanent connection between said cups, while the upper portion of said connecting member serves as a flap 22 adapted to be folded over the bridge portion 16 of Wire 11 to conceal it from view, to prevent it from coming in contact with the body of the wearer, and to prevent sagging of the inner edges of the fabric cups relative to the bridge portion 16. The connecting member is on the outer side of the bridge portion when the brassiere is in use, that is, the bridge portion lies inwardly of the connecting member, to be concealed thereby.

Conventional separable snap fasteners 23 and 24 are secured to the connecting member 21 to retain the flap 22 in place when folded over the bridge portion 16, and a layer 25 of plush-like material is sewn on the outer face of said flap 22 to provide a comfortable cushion between the bridge portion 16 and the body of the wearer when said flap is in folded position. As is obvious from the construction described, the fold of the flap 22 is adjacent the bridge portion 16 so that disconnection of wires 10 and 11 by relative vertical movement cannot be effected while the end of the flap 22 is secured in place by the snap fasteners 23 and 24.

From the above description it will be apparent that the stated objects of the invention are accomplished by the hereindescribed embodiment and that applicant has provided a brassiere employing a readily removeable wire brace which is retained in a concealed position in use and which has adequate padding to be comfortable in use.

While only a single specific example has been shown and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but that the invention is intended to cover other modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Wire supporting means for use in a brassiere having a pair of interconnected breast supporting cups comprising: a pair of generally semicircular wire sections,

one of said sections terminating in an integral, substantially vertical socket provided with a noncircular recess and the other of said sections terminating in a downwardly extending, substantially vertical, noncircular end portion extending into said socket, whereby said wire sections are secured together in nonrotatable relationship and held against separation by relative lateral movement.

.2. A brassiere, comprising: two spaced breast supporting cups; a connecting member secured to said cups at their adjacent edges, each of said cups being provided with a tubular channel along a portion of its periph- -ery extending from a point adjacent said connecting member; wire brace means in said channels includmg an intermediate portion bridging the space between said cups and lying inwardly of said connecting member and above the point of connection of said connecting member with said cups, said -wire brace means consisting of two pieces connected at their adjacent ends by a joint that is separable by relative vertical movement of said pieces at with a tubular channel along a portion of its periphery extending from a point adjacent said connecting member; wire brace means in said channels incluuding an intermediate portion bridging the space between said cups and lying inwardly of said connecting member and above the point of connectiontof said connecting member with said cups, said wire brace means comprising a pair of arcuate wire sections joined at said intermediate portion, one of said wire sections having a vertical socket member at one end provided with a noncircular recess and the other of said wire sections having a complementary noncircular vertical end portion extending downwardly into said recess whereby said wire sections are secured together in nonrotatable relationship but are separable by relative vertical movement of said sections, said connecting member including a flap portion having a fold adjacent to and overlying the joint of said intermediate portion of said wire means; and means securing the folded flap in position overlying said intermediate portion to prevent disconnection of said wire brace means.

4. A brassiere as defined inclaim 3, including a tab mounted upon the intermediate portion of the wire brace means to facilitate separation of the wire sections-when the flap is unfastened. v

5. Wire supporting means for use in a brassiere having breast supporting cups, comprising: a pair of generally semicircuiar wire sections, one of said sections having a substantially vertical terminal portion at one end thereof, the other of said sections having a bridge portion extending laterally from one end thereof and ending in a substantially vertical terminal portion extending downwardly from said bridge portion, one of said terminal portions consisting of a socket having a noncircular recess and the other of said terminal portions consisting of a complementary noncircular formation non-rotatably received in said socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ferrero Dec. 22, 1931 2,087,925 Roseman July 27, 1937 2,485,571 Co usins Oct. 25, 1949 2,644,947 Schwartz July 14, 1952 2,605,468 'Kramer Aug. 5, 1 952 2,622,244 Alberts Dec. 23, 1952 1 "FOREIGN PATENTS 963,571 France Q. Jan. 4, 1950 

